There are growing expectations in Democratic and White House circles that two potential wild card presidential candidates will shake up the 2020 nomination by seizing former President Barack Obama’s 2008 model to ride the youth and minority vote to victory over the party’s war horses.
Enter former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke and former first lady Michelle Obama.
In his 2018 Senate race, O’Rourke lost to Sen. Ted Cruz by just over 1 percent in ruby red Texas. Since, he has surged in 2020 presidential polls.
“Beto O’Rourke has been able capture the fancy of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and has displayed some real charisma in the process,” said Democratic pollster John Zogby.
“If I was at the Republican National Committee, I would definitely be keeping an eye on this one,” added pollster John McLaughlin, who worked for President Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Team Trump is.
A White House political adviser said that several insiders expect O’Rourke to be competitive in the Democratic primary to the end.
In the December McLaughlin & Associates 2020 poll that asked about O’Rourke for the first time, the 46-year Democrat started at a surprising 11 percent, far ahead of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who signaled her entry into the race last week.
Michelle Obama, meanwhile, has overtaken Oprah and Hillary Rodham Clinton in popularity while on her successful book tour. She just broke Clinton’s 17-year reign as Gallup’s “most admired” woman and often polls as one of the top three Democratic presidential picks.
[Also read: Michelle Obama gets surprise visit, flowers from husband Barack at DC book event]
“Mrs. Obama’s story, her sacrifices and her service are fundamental parts of a new American Dream that so many young Americans aspire to today,” said John Della Volpe, director of polling for the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s Kennedy School.
Famed for his regular polling of younger voters, Della Volpe added, “Millennials respond favorably to Michelle Obama’s radical authenticity.”
Obama has said that she is not interested in running for president despite urgings from friends and being the obvious heir to her husband’s legacy. Zogby said her refusal to run, despite being the “perfect” candidate, is her “most appealing” trait.
Should Obama stay out of the race, some see a natural coalition between the Obamas and O’Rourke. The former president has already met with O’Rourke to talk 2020, sparking rumors he wants the Texan to run.
Just last week, 2016 Democratic candidate Martin O’Malley called on O’Rourke to run.
Two Democratic presidential campaign advisers said that the Spanish-speaking O’Rourke could copy Obama’s path to the White House. They said he could seize the youth vote in Iowa, use a victory there to bounce to another in New Hampshire and score big among Hispanic voters in California, which has moved up its presidential primary to Super Tuesday.
“He seems to have a big fan in former President Barack Obama. That can make this whole phenomenon even more interesting,” said Zogby.
[Related: ‘Draft Beto’ campaign hires SC, Nevada operatives]
